Next month, ICANN will convene for the ICANN86 Policy Forum. Please allow me to welcome you to Seville, Spain, which is hosting its first ICANN Public Meeting!
As we approach the start of the second ICANN Public Meeting of 2026, I encourage you to visit the ICANN86 website. Here, you can register and find important information about the schedule, travel, hotels, transportation, health, and safety. As you prepare for ICANN86, I highly recommend you read three resources:
- The ICANN86 Policy Outlook Report, which the Policy Development Support team develops to help all participants prepare for work sessions.
- The briefing from our colleagues in the Global Domains and Strategy function for the latest information about policy implementation and reviews.
- The updated and consolidated scorecard on the status of policy and governance work.
I hope these resources are relevant and timely for you. Materials such as presentations and recordings from Prep Week, which is being held 20–21 May 2026, will also be available.
The Policy Forum is a great opportunity for the ICANN community to come together for important cross-community discussions. The ICANN community selected two plenary sessions for the ICANN86 schedule: "The Current and Coming Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Domain Name System Abuse" and a "Dialogue on the Feasibility of a Platform for Applicant Support Program-Supported New Generic Top-Level Domains." There will also be a session about the ongoing Review of Reviews.
ICANN community groups have taken the lead in organizing their four-day schedules for ICANN86, which include:
- The Address Supporting Organization (ASO) continues its work to update Internet Coordination Policy 2, aiming to finish in the coming months. The ASO Address Council will also offer an informational session about this work on Thursday, 11 June.
- The Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) will hold sessions covering strategic, technical, and industry topics relevant to country code top-level domain managers. The ccNSO will also host Tech Day.
- Two high-profile projects in the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) will make progress in Seville. The first is the recently launched Policy Development Process on Domain Name System (DNS) Abuse Mitigation, which is considering requirements for registrars to conduct associated domain checks. The second is the work to improve a prior set of policy recommendations regarding a System for Standardized Access and Disclosure (SSAD) of Nonpublic Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Registration Data. This work is referred to as the Supplemental Recommendations on SSAD. The GNSO Council will be focused on these issues, and GNSO stakeholder groups and constituencies will also conduct sessions related to these efforts.
- At-Large community sessions will focus on increasing member knowledge and understanding of policy development topics, particularly DNS Abuse mitigation. The Regional At-Large Organizations will also convene a coordination meeting.
- The Governmental Advisory Committee will discuss the New gTLD Program: 2026 Round, DNS Abuse mitigation, issues relating to gTLD registration data, and Universal Acceptance.
- The Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC) has one active work party: revising a past advisory on service expectations of root server operators. RSSAC is also updating its operational procedures, which will be featured in a session.
- The Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) currently has four active work parties. SSAC will hold two lightning talk sessions, a joint open microphone session with RSSAC, and joint sessions with the At-Large Advisory Committee, the GNSO Contracted Parties House, and the GNSO Noncommercial Stakeholder Group.
Finally, led by the ICANN Board, we will all recognize the leaders of current working groups across the ICANN community with a reception on Tuesday, 10 June.
Thank you for making the considerable commitment of time and effort to attend ICANN86, either in person or remotely. Whether you are a longtime ICANN community member, an occasional contributor, or joining us for the first time, I encourage you to take an active role.
